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Valente Center

Bringing Visitors to Campus - Valente Center for Arts & Sciences

Guest Speakers

The Valente Center for the Arts and Sciences regularly sponsors or co-sponsor visitors coming to campus for talks, guest lectures, workshops, seminars, class visits, etc.   It's easiest to do if your department is willing to co-sponsor the event and you can show us that there is faculty and student interest in the speaker, tell us about the potential audience, identify faculty members who might bring their classes to the talk, and show how the event supports the Valente Center mission to enrich arts & sciences offerings on campus.

Short-Term Visiting Scholars

The Valente Center hosts short-term visiting scholars (for about a week).  These scholars are typically distinguished leaders in their fields.  We ask them to do several class visits, give a public lecture, host a faculty workshop or work-in-progress seminar, and hold office hours for anyone on campus who would like to spend time with them.  We usually bring one such scholar to campus each semester and try to rotate among departments so that we can enrich the intellectual life for everyone in the arts and sciences and beyond.  If you would like to suggest a short-term visiting scholar, it’s easiest if you can get departmental support, show us that there is faculty and student interest in the scholar, and help us identify potential audiences for events.

Long-Term Visiting Scholars

The Valente Center regularly host longer-term visiting scholars, from several months to a full semester or academic year.  These scholars usually have their own source of funding and include faculty members on sabbatical, postdoctoral fellows, emerging scholars at the dissertation phase, or faculty members from other institutions who are collaborating with Bentley faculty members.  We provide an office space for them (if available), library privileges, sometimes a small housing allowance, and ask them to participate in the intellectual life of campus by offering a work-in-progress talk, and/or a workshop, a lecture, a seminar, etc.  We also asked them to attend events offered on campus and interact with our students and faculty members.